Philosophical Essay on Religion and Medicine Lacks Investigative Leads

Invisible Forces Farr Curlin meditates on the puzzle of medicine—what is its evolutionary and social function, what draws individual practitioners to it, and what grounds its fundamental values. The values of scientific inquiry lead to treating the objects of inquiries in just that way: as objects. But objectifying patients and their disease would seem to work against the human values of empathy and caring for the weak that also seems to be part and parcel of what medicine is as a practice. Curlin argues that religious values inform and nurture the human side by insisting that there must be a connection between physician and patient, acting as an often unrecognized invisible force that humanizes the practice of medicine. Religion is neither necessary nor sufficient for an individual to adhere to such values. The question of what it is that grounds the fundamental values that govern our relationships, and how those values are reflected in invisible social, psychological, and biological forces, is central to the work of our network. Ina concluding essay, Ronald Thisted reflects on the many threads of investigation and discussion that have made up our conversation, and how they are interwoven into a network of inquiry that sheds light on invisible forces and the social brain. Pa at Q 6 | 146 ¢ HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021392